


The Reveal

by Bara_no_Uta



Category: Caduceus | Trauma Center Series
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 22:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18678871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bara_no_Uta/pseuds/Bara_no_Uta
Summary: At age 8, Alyssa isn’t the sharpest when it comes to picking up on others’ romantic lives. Uncertain how to navigate the conversation, Naomi had put off telling her about her and Maria’s relationship, but when Alyssa wakes up early and catches them kissing, the conversation needs to be had.---Late fill for Femslash February: Day 5, "Sharp"





	The Reveal

               "Next time, can we make chocolate muffins?" Maria asked as she removed the bacon from the frying pan. When Maria slept over, the two of them typically made breakfast together before waking Alyssa.

               Naomi gave a playful sigh. "What's next? 'Let's just skip breakfast and eat ice cream'?"

               "Now that you mention it..." She stopped and laughed. "Hey, I am a doctor, you know."

               "Mmhmm." Despite her response, she had an amused smile on her lips and affection shone in her eyes.

               "Ruuuude." With a giggle, Maria put her arms around Naomi's neck and kissed her.

               Smiling into the kiss, Naomi wrapped her arms around Maria's waist. When did she become this person? Kissing her partner in the kitchen while cooking breakfast as her daughter slept upstairs, like some sort of idealistic picture of what a home should be? She had spent so much of her life focused on her career and quite a lot of it rather alone, so much that she had thrown away dreams like this when she decided she would become a surgeon.

               Her career was still extremely important to her, but as it turned out... it wasn't an either/or. She got to have both. She insisted that silly things like this were done only for Maria's sake, because she knew Maria needed physical reassurances of her love, but she was definitely not complaining herself.

               Maria ran a hand through Naomi's hair. It was a lazy Saturday morning for them, so she still hadn't put her hair up, and there was something intimate about being allowed to see Naomi when she wasn't entirely 'put together.' No makeup, hair down, wearing her pajamas.

               The two of them enjoyed the contact, bodies relaxing into one another, until:

               "...N'omi?"

               Naomi's body stilled and Maria quickly pulled away, her face flushing. Naomi took a deep breath, then turned to face Alyssa, who seemed confused. "Hi, Alyssa. You're up early."

               "I smelled bacon."

               Maria looked to Naomi, wondering if she should help or stay out of this conversation. She knew that it was something Naomi had been nervous about and, as a result, had decided to put off a while.

               Truthfully, Alyssa was closer to Maria than she was to anybody aside from Naomi, and there were some ways in which Maria understood her even better than Naomi did. The two of them had helped her process the grief of losing her parents, and Maria helped her know that she wasn't the only one who had all those big feelings.

               Naomi looked to Maria. "Why don't you get the plates and I'll set the table? I'd rather not let the food get cold."

               She recognized avoidance when she saw it, but she decided not to call her on it. Alyssa didn't seem distressed at all, and she couldn't really see any harm in waiting a few minutes to continue the conversation. She reached out and gave Naomi's hand a light squeeze before loading up each of the plates with eggs, bacon, and fruit.

               Meanwhile, Naomi put napkins down and got them each a glass of their preferred breakfast beverage -- water for herself, milk for Maria, and orange juice for Alyssa.

               Alyssa took her usual seat at the table and waited. She wasn’t bothered, but it was a little bit surprising and confusing. She had thought Naomi and Maria were best friends, but clearly that wasn’t exactly it.

               Naomi intentionally dawdled until Maria was finished getting their breakfast on the table. This was potentially a conversation that should have been just between her and Alyssa, and she acknowledged that Maria had probably been right that they should have told her sooner, but Maria was already here and the conversation was happening now, so all she could do was make the best of it.

               Alyssa kicked her feet restlessly. "Thank you," she said as they placed her plate and orange juice in front of her. She still had good table manners – Naomi had said so! – and waited until the two of them sat down too.

               Naomi took another breath, trying to combat the shallow breaths her body seemed to be trying to default to. She understood all too well the engagement of her sympathetic nervous system and the desire to flee what felt like a frightening conversation, and knew that she needed to keep breathing if she was to combat that and think clearly. "I imagine you might have some questions right now," she finally said, her voice surprisingly calm.

               Alyssa finished chewing her bacon and tilted her head a bit. "You and Maria love each other?"

               She glanced over to Maria, who offered a warm smile. "...Yes. We love each other."

               Why would she have questions about that? Was she supposed to have questions? She knew what dating was; geez, she wasn't a baby!

               Waiting a while before speaking in an effort to avoid interrupting any questions Alyssa might be formulating, Naomi eventually elaborated, "Maria and I have been in a relationship for some months now, since a few months after my surgery. You had so many things changing around you, and I... I didn't want to add more to that."

               Ohhh. Naomi thought she might be upset about having another new person? Alyssa beamed. "I'm happy! I love you and I love Maria!"

               Naomi smiled, feeling tears prick at the very corners of her eyes. She held them back with a couple of blinks.

               Breakfast seemed to resume as normal, but after a few minutes, Maria wondered if Naomi was going to call out the elephant in the room. She could see that Naomi still hadn't relaxed, although Alyssa seemed to have moved on, satisfied with their brief conversation. It did briefly cross her mind that it might not be her place to have this conversation with Alyssa, but then again, maybe Naomi would appreciate the help. "Um, Alyssa?"

               Alyssa looked up. "Uh-huh?"

               She looked at Naomi, hating to have to tell Alyssa about some of the cruel realities of the world. "The other doctors at the hospital all know, so it's okay to talk to them about it, but I just want... think you should know... There are some people who think it's wrong for two women to fall in love with each other. And some of those people can be pretty mean about it. So just... be careful about talking to your classmates or something, okay?"

               "Okay. ...Why do they think it's wrong?" She had never heard of it before, but it didn't seem any different to her than if they were a man and a woman, and that was confusing. She didn’t think it was only confusing because of her brain, either; it just didn’t make sense to her that people could think people loving each other was wrong. It had gotten a little bit harder to think about things ever since the explosion. Tomoe had explained it to her that her brain got a little bit hurt because she couldn't breathe for too long. She could still do most of the things she used to be able to, but a few things felt harder than they used to. She got extra help at school though, and Naomi spent time helping her at home too when she needed it.

               Naomi looked to Maria, then averted her eyes, troubled. She had no qualms about this conversation, knowing it was one that needed to be had, but she wasn't as comfortable with her sexuality as Maria. Sure, she had known for a couple of decades that she was bisexual, but she had made a decision back as a teenager that she would only date men, and it was rare for her to make an exception to that.

               Meanwhile, Maria had accepted years ago that she was 'really gay,' and was typically able to maintain an attitude that bigots could go screw themselves with a cactus. That response wasn't going to be helpful to Alyssa right now, though. "I don't really know, and people have different reasons. Some people, they're just scared of things they don't understand."

               Alyssa touched the scar tissue on her forehead. That's what Naomi had told her when she got bullied about the burn scars, too. She didn't get what was hard to understand about love, but she didn't get what was hard to understand about getting hurt and having scars, either. “I hope people can learn to try more to understand things,” she said, wistful.

               Maria smiled sadly. “Me too.”

               Naomi reached over the table to put a hand over Alyssa’s. “Someday, they will.” She rarely engaged in such wishful thinking, seeing it as frivolous and a waste of time compared to facing reality, but it broke her heart when Alyssa had to face the cruelties of the world. “Until then, look for the people who do understand.”

               Alyssa thought about it, then nodded and smiled. “Like Tomoe and Gabe and Hank and Esha and Little Guy?”

               “Exactly like them.” Naomi found herself smiling back. Even after everything she had been through, Alyssa’s smile was contagious.


End file.
